Jurgen Klopp is right - VAR bottled late penalty call that could yet cost Liverpool the title! Winners & losers as Pep Guardiola and Man City only just survive Anfield onslaught to leave Arsenal on top

Sunday's clash was one that almost passed with no refereeing incidents of note, as Michael Oliver allowed the game to largely flow while ensuring the obvious decisions were made correctly, including Liverpool's penalty for Ederson's foul on Darwin Nunez.

However, Oliver and - more pertinently - VAR official Stuart Attwell could go down in infamy if Liverpool end up missing out on the title by a point or two after they failed to award the Reds a spot-kick for Jeremy Doku's high boot on Mac Allister in the final minute of stoppage-time.

Klopp insisted that the decision should have been "100 percent a penalty", and he has a point. Anywhere else on the field, and Doku planting his studs into Mac Allister's chest - even though he got a toe on the ball first - would have been deemed a foul, and likely one worthy of a yellow card. It was telling that both Gary Neville and former referee Mike Dean initially felt like Doku was in trouble when watching the replays while commentating for Sky Sports.

That Oliver wasn't sent to the screen to at least have another look at the incident feels like Attwell bottling the decision. Were this not the last-minute of a potential title-decider with the scores level, would he have made the same call? We can hope he would have, but it's difficult to shake the feeling that the VAR did not want to insert himself into the game at such a crucial juncture, and instead will hide behind the 'clear and obvious' defence.

The Reds might still go on and win the title, and all will be forgotten, But if they do come up just short, then expect to see the Doku incident replayed over and over again.

The Gunners spent most of last season being the hunted and were eventually chased down by City in the title race. In 2023-24, though, they have been enjoying playing the reverse role of the hunter, but they have also been waiting for their two rivals to falter, and they have finally done so, as well as wearing each other out.

The result means that Arsenal are now back at the top of the table for the first time since Boxing Day - albeit on goal difference - and it is now up to them to stay there. Mikel Arteta's side were given a big fright by Brentford on Saturday, but got the three points thanks to Kai Havertz's 86th-minute winner.

Their capacity to find late goals will give them extra confidence of coming out of this extraordinary three-way title race on top, as no team has won more points within the final five minutes of matches than the Gunners.

Next up is a trip to the Etihad, where they effectively waved goodbye to the title last year. But this time their squad is stronger and they seem more mentally robust, too. They have also witnessed that City are not bulletproof any more, and so this most-enthralling of races could be set for a shock twist in three weeks' time.

When you are 1-0 up at Anfield in a game with huge ramifications for the title, you need to keep a cool head and make the right decisions. Two minutes into the second half, Ake and Ederson did neither.

The Dutchman was the biggest culprit as he invited the danger with a sloppy back-pass, but Ederson was too eager to get to the loose ball before Nunez when he could have just stood his ground and narrowed down the Uruguayan's shooting angles. After all, there were no other Liverpool players close by.

Ederson ended up getting injured as a result of the clash, although his replacement Stefan Ortega did an admirable job standing in for the remainder of the game. He will at least have three weeks to recover before the next league game against Arsenal as Ortega was already pencilled in to face Newcastle in the FA Cup next week.

Ake, however, faces fierce competition from the returning Josko Gvardiol, and this was a big error which may lead to Guardiola choosing the Croatian instead for City's next crunch game.

Set-piece coaches rarely make the headlines, but Carlos Vicens and his staff have now been credited with two City goals within the last three months. Kevin De Bruyne and Stones executed the plan perfectly at Anfield, while Nathan Ake also played his part in a brilliantly-worked routine which caught Liverpool unawares and saw City take the lead. But the idea was hatched on the training ground.

“Yeah, Carlos worked hard on it in training as we do every week,” Stones told Sky Sports. “We spotted this and yesterday we worked on it and it came off, which was pleasing for me to get on the scoresheet, my first one of the season and to get off the mark in a big game as well."

Vicens and dead-ball analyst Jack Wilson were credited for their role in another clever set-piece goal against Burnley in January, when De Bruyne rolled the ball along the floor for Julian Alvarez to strike first time.

Vicens has been with City since 2017, working his way up from youth-team coach to join Guardiola's staff in 2021, and he has overseen a huge improvement in the team's set-piece output, with the team scoring 21 goals from dead balls while conceding just once in his first season.

Everyone knows City are one of the best teams in the world in open play, but Vicens has ensured they can also make the difference from set-pieces, too.

Luis Diaz had what would best be described as a mixed afternoon at Anfield. During the first half, he was guilty of wanting too much time on the ball, and a number of attacks ended at his feet. However, while those around him began to wane, the Colombian seemed to gain strength the longer the game went on, and late on was leaving both Rodri and Kyle Walker in the dirt as he looked to force a winner.

Despite that, Diaz must wonder how he didn't end the game as the match-winner. He had three clear chances shortly after Liverpool pulled level, the biggest of which came when he was sent clear by the recently-introduced Mohamed Salah, but opened up his body too much and could only arc his shot wide of the post with Stefan Ortega beaten.

Given he had scored in each of the Reds' previous three league games at Anfield, Diaz was not short of confidence, but seemed to lack composure in Sunday's high-pressure situation. He will hope he doesn't come to rue those missed opportunities come mid-May.

Klopp doesn't have many games at Anfield left now. After Sunday's draw, Liverpool have just five home league games left, and could yet play up to three more there in the Europa League if they progress as far as the semi-finals. Against City, though, was a prime illustration of what a cauldron it has become under the German coach.

Led by The Kop faithful, Anfield has always had one of the best atmospheres in world football, but Klopp's presence has taken things to a whole new level. Along with his players, Liverpool's fans have gone from being doubters to believers, and on afternoons like this one, they know the role they can play in getting their team over the line.

Given who wasn't in the home side's starting line-up, they had no right to go toe to toe with City's treble-winning machine, but the Anfield factor is not just a 12th man, but a 13th and 14th too. Klopp has instilled that belief into everyone connected to the club, and it was on full display for perhaps the final time under his stewardship here. His successor will have a job on to channel that support in the same was as the effervescent German.

When the starting line-ups landed and it was revealed that Salah and Andy Robertson would be starting on the bench, it looked as if City had a golden chance to reverse their awful run at Anfield and win for only the second time there since 2003, and the first time with fans. But they couldn't take it.

City managed the first phase of the game well and found themselves in an ideal situation when Stones gave them the lead midway through the first half. But instead of building on it, Guardiola's side allowed Liverpool back into the game.

Ake and Ederson's errors literally handed the Reds a route back, but even towards the end of the first half, City had uncharacteristically eased off and let Liverpool dictate the pace of the game. And once they had drawn level, Klopp's side dominated the play and will be kicking themselves for not going on to win.

Guardiola did try and turn things around by making two extra substitutions after the forced change of Ederson, but taking De Bruyne off was a big call and it did not work out well, as City could barely get hold of the ball in the latter stages, much less do anything with it, and Mateo Kovacic simply does not have the vision or passing range of the man he replaced.

The substitution also led to an animated discussion between Guardiola and De Bruyne, which did not reflect well on the coach's game-plan.